This invention relates to the medical field, and provides an adjustable chair which facilitates the transfer of a patient from a hospital bed, or other bed.
When a patient in a hospital is unable to walk, it often becomes necessary to move the patient between a bed and a chair, or between a bed and a gurney or other transport device. Transferring a non-ambulatory patient from a bed typically requires the cooperation of several persons, who must lift the patient carefully, and deposit him or her onto the chair or other device. In practice, the nurse, or other hospital employee in charge of moving the patient, must enlist the help of other hospital personnel to perform this task. The procedure is inefficient because it requires that several persons simultaneously interrupt their other work to come to assist in the transport of one patient. When the procedure is performed repeatedly for many patients in a hospital on a single day, the disruptive effect is multiplied. And if the nurse tries to move the patient alone, the nurse risks a back injury due to the excessive strain required to lift the patient.
The present invention solves the problem of transferring a patient from a bed, by providing a method and apparatus which generally require only one person. The invention allows the patient to be transferred easily and comfortably between a bed and a lounge chair, and to be moved easily from one location to another.